Paradox
by OnesAlterEgo
Summary: When the Doctor and Donna come across a peculier old man, and he disappears into thin air, the Doctor must find out how the impossible has occured.
1. Paradox Pt 1

****

This is set back when the 10th Doctor was travelling with Donna Noble, because these were my favourite characters of the series, and I find them much more fun to work with.

**Please excuse the weird paragraphing, this site doesn't allow me to indent properly. **

**Please review and stuff :)**

* * *

Paradox Pt. 1

The moon loomed over, the street bathing in its divine light. Darker and darker the night grew, moonlight moving eastwards towards an old abandoned cafe. There before it, stood a man, waiting; waiting for something even he didn't seem sure of. Looking down he peered at his watch 23:39. _One more minute to go _he thought, _one more minute_.  
As if triggered by his hand movement, a singular drop of water fell upon the man's wrist, splattering on his dark skin. Accompanied by the long, ravaging winds the rest of the rain fell; hydrating the entire town in which the man stood.

Placing his arms before his chest he grabbed the opening of his grey soaking jacket, overlapping each side over one another, crossing his arms over forcefully to keep them in place. The stubborn old man still stood patiently, obviously cold, drenched in the aftermath of British weather.  
His pale chalky face wore a frown, wrinkled up his already wrinkled face in the cold. It was obvious that it wasn't his choice to be there, and he wouldn't be there if he didn't have to be. Yet still, he stood - looking around impatiently.

Pausing, the man stood still, feeling the familiar shiver down his spine that he had once felt before. A unique shiver, that of which he would never be able to describe. Then he heard the noise. A heavy sound that was only there in the subliminal sense; it was like it was there, but you wouldn't notice it unless you listened really hard. It was the blue box.

"Doctor!" the man called out, just before the blue box begun to materialise across the road from him as if by magic. Slowly, the blue police callbox became denser, the lettering above the door becoming legible enough for the old man to read: "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX".  
Stepping out into the road the man looked up the TARDIS, his eyes staring at the dark blue wooden box, his jaw lowering slowly. The door then opened, the Doctor jumping out in surprise, umbrella in his right hand, a joyful look on his face - his conversation with the red-head behind him fading at the sight of the man before him.

"...Doctor?" He said once more, looking up towards the smartly dressed man before him. The Doctor's expression was serious, yet curious. Peering down at the man in curiosity he stood aside allowing his friend, Donna, to step out the box.

The look on Donna's face was a look of surprise as it was rare that people would notice the TARDIS as it landed. She looked at the Doctor, his eyebrow raised, still glancing downwards at the man who seemingly knew him. Donna, the talkative type, hated silence, and as awkward as it was she had to say something.

"Do you two know each other?" Pointing at the Doctor and then at the man she questioned them; her mouth perking upwards in a curious smile. The Doctor squinted, resting his head on his right shoulder, examining the man's face. It was familiar to him, yet he couldn't put a name or even anything to his face.

"I don't think so..." The Doctor continued to squint at the man, seemingly uninterested in what Donna had to say.

"Doctor...?" The man spoke again, confused at the Doctors reaction; he was completely oblivious to whom the man was and that they had ever met before. Donna joined in with the bewildered look on her face, as did the two men on either side of her.

"You told me to wait here for you. You told me to tell you that if I told you something you'd know what to do..." The man spoke as if questioning the Doctor, hoping in reply the smartly dressed man would understand.

"Tell me what?" The Doctor raised his head in speech, curious at the next words to come from this old man's mouth. Then casually pulling at the bottom of his shirt he looked down cautiously as the man moved his face closer to his, his mouth inches from the Doctor's right ear. Then the man whispered a few words delicately in his ears, shaking in the cold as the rain began to stop.

The Doctor lowered his head down while the man stepped down from his tip-tows and back onto his heels. The Doctor's eyes glaring at nothing, fear widely spread across his face.

"What? What _the hell_ is going on?" Donna forced her head straight between the two men, angry and impatient; left out from the whispers. She stepped back, looking at the Doctors face, he was seriously scared. Calming herself down Donna stepped back, looking back and forth between both of them.

"What's happening?" concern hit her hard, she was used to tense moments like this but still, if it scared the Doctor, it scared her. The Doctor was rarely scared of anything. "What did he just say?"

Suddenly long gusts of wind ravaged down the street, aiming directly at the short elderly man, whisking away the litter scattered amongst the entire street; the hair of the young-looking ginger woman throwing its self in multiple directions.

The Doctor looked around, an inquisitive look on his face, visually examining the wind, noticing an abnormal blue tint within it that shouldn't, and really couldn't belong. His jaw dropped, eyes open wide. Trouble was coming and it wasn't good.

Donna noticed the Doctor's expression and followed his eyes, looking at the wind; unable to see whatever it was that he could see. Trying to stay sturdy in the windy environment she was in she balanced herself; readying her speech and raising her arms to defend against the wind.

"What is it?" Her voice echoed peculiarly, her instinct was to ignore it, and wait for the Doctor to answer assuming it was just the tremble in her voice. The doctor swung his head around to face the old man. Instead, he was stood looking at an empty spot in which the man stood no more. He was gone.

After dropping his umbrella, the doctor began running down the street, looking left and right for the man; his disappearing act had stunned both Donna and him. It was obvious to the Doctor what had happened, but he had had to make sure. Donna was standing almost motionless rolling her eyes and lifting her arms sarcastically.

"Well, just a normal day out then?" Donna's shout no longer echoed with the wind, her voice now speaking surely and enthusiastically. Hands above his head the doctor continued to look – a sign of shock and madness on his face. Whatever happened was bad. Really bad.

Sighing briefly and releasing his arm from his head the Doctor slowly marched back to the TARDIS, still searching in denial of the man's absence. Ignoring Donna he then pushed open the TARDIS door, anxiously jumping across to the TARDIS's computer screen, poking around at the buttons surrounding it.

Donna then entered, annoyed at his ignorance. Waiting a minute she watched in silence; his frustration was scary, and worrying. She doubted that he'd ever looked more scared.

"NO! NO! No-no-no-no-no-no-no! It's gone! Completely gone. Not even a trace. Not even a little bit left. How is it even possible? A time vortex in a non-contained area is impossible. Like really impossible. Like not even possible possible. I mean, not even I could do that! NOBODY CAN DO THAT!" The Doctor continued to babble, walking around scratching the back of his head in disbelief.

"DO WHAT?" Donna was ticked off now, forgetting about what had just occurred outside she developed anger. Being ignored just really got to her, a lot. She stood – her mouth open, her gritted teeth on show. The Doctor knew she was angry.

It wasn't until she had shouted that the Doctor had even noticed she was there. He was too hooked into what he had seen to have any idea about what else was going on around him.

"Oh, Donna… Donna, Donna, Donna." The Doctor looked at her, a tint in his eyes; he was angry, upset and confused. This was going to be a very long trip.


	2. Paradox Pt 2

**This section is pretty short. It's just beginning the _adventure_ for the couple. **

**Hope you like.**

**Please review and stuff. :)**

* * *

Paradox Pt. 2

Gently pushing open the TARDIS door, Donna forcefully willed her eyes to shut tightly, unprepared for what she saw outside. After her eyelids parted she was gazing at the same scene before she shut her eyes, and she didn't like it.

"...Doctor?" She stepped back into the TARDIS, and spoke over the Doctor who was still circling the inner workings of the TARDIS in hope of an answer to a question Donna dare not ask. "Doctor, you haven't been time travelling while playing around over there, have-you-by-any-chance?" She began to worry and her words begun to merge into one another. She knew when the TARDIS moved, and it certainly hadn't moved when she stood inside it, but when she had looked outside, it was daylight.

"Donna, not now! We'll explore the city later. I think we're in trouble." The Doctor was sweating now. _Does he ever sweat? I don't think I've ever seen him sweat before. But wait, _"IT'S FREAKING DAYLIGHT OUTSIDE!" It was unbelievable that Donna Noble, the loud London girl that never thinks before she speaks could think even less than usual before she spoke when in fearful situations. In fact, it was a wonder she even bothered thinking at all when her mouth did it all for her.

The Doctor almost tripped across the TARDIS floor as he scrabbled to the door, and looked outside at the gray street that only a minute before was an empty old street, drenched in darkness.

The daylight was faint, as always in England, and the clouds in the sky seemed to expand outwards to block any sign of the suns existence to the Earth. The streets were left cold and bare, with nothing but missing persons posters pasted across walls, littered among the street and gliding in the wind. Oh so many posters; children missing, parents missing, friendless old pensioners missing, and even pets missing. Other than this, Carlton appeared to be a ghost town.

The Doctor's mouth was open, his brain attempting to explain the change in time of day without his doing so. What the hell was going on?_ Should I even stay to find out? I can't possibly leave. This is dangerous. This is dangerous to everything. This is impossible. This can't be happening. _He began to pinch himself. Then it hit him. This was as real, and he and Donna were not safe here.

Donna stepped out of the TARDIS, a step further than the police box's driver. She flicked her head to the left and to the right, her hair colliding with the strong winds that passed through the street, much like the winds before that seemed to take the old man just minutes ago - or at least a few minutes ago to her.

"You're having me on aren't you?" Donna looked at the Doctor and pushed on his shoulder, hoping that his face would turn from a curious frown to a cruel laugh on her expense. Alas, his face still wore the burden of knowing somewhat more than her about what was going on.

The winds were growing fiercer now, and the pavement came alive with paper throwing itself across the street, and into anywhere the wind took them. Like before, the Doctor saw the change in colour as the winds begun to pass them – a harsh blue and purple colour and with this, panic engaged his nervous system, and his stomach tightened along with his face.

"Donna, get back into the TARDIS." The Doctor begun to panic. His thoughts were rushed and complicated_. Time vortexes would swallow us all. Everything's going to die. No it's not. But it is. This might be the end. But it took the old man. It has to be controlled. It'd have to aim at us. It's not aiming at us. Why would it aim at us. It doesn't know us. DONNAAAAAA!_ He panicked. "Get into the TARDIS NOW." The Doctor's shout echoed within the wind. Dust and gravel begun to mix with the wind; spraying into the Doctor's face. "Get into the TARDIS NOW." But Donna couldn't move. She couldn't move her body at all.

"DONNAAAAAA!" The Doctor blinked, and she was gone.

Donna looked around. She was still on the same street, with the TARDIS in front of her, and the Doctor had gone.

"Doctor?" Donna whispered, feeling anxious to see her fellow traveller. She looked at the TARDIS, and pushed upon the door. It was locked. "Why've you locked the door?" She shoved at the handle, and then gave up, putting her hand down her top to feel for the key the Doctor had once given to her. It hung on a piece of string around her neck, and was covered by her top.

"Doctor? What's going on?" She shouted across the console room.

Lonely. Far away from home. Endangered. Anything was possible. Clueless. Where had he gone?

It didn't take long of searching the TARDIS, which was much bigger on the inside than that of the outside for Donna to know that the Doctor was nowhere in sight – partly because he'd never leave her; partly because she just knew; but for sure when the TARDIS begun to speak to her. Screens around the console room started to flash and displayed a picture of the Doctor.

"Donna!" the screen exclaimed, in a forcefully jolly manner.


End file.
